Application of bacterial cellulose for clarification of fruit juices

The aim of our studies was to estimate the usefulness of bacterial cellulose synthesised by Acetobacter xylinum E 25 for the clarification of apple juice. The cellulose was applied either as a membrane formed under stationary culture conditions or as a suspension obtained by disintegration of such a membrane. The membrane was used as a filter bed. The results of our studies confirm that cellulose membranes may be used as filtration ones. After filtration through cellulose membranes, apple juice displayed very high clarity, higher than its sample clarified under standard conditions, even after a stability test. Juice clarification only by filtration through cellulose membrane does not assure its stable colour, which darkens under the conditions of a stability test performance. This phenomenon is also observed for other products clarified by filtration only. Bacterial cellulose application as an adsorbent for fruit juice clarification yielded the product with demanded stability.